The ability to rapidly load and unload passengers from commercial aircraft is a constant concern to commercial airlines and airport management. An increase in commercial airline use by the traveling public places more stress on the finite capabilities of airports to handle increasing passenger traffic. To handle this increasing passenger traffic, an increasing number of arriving and departing aircraft are scheduled to operate at airports having a limited number of gates. To better move the increasing passenger traffic with more aircraft requires a significant improvement in the ability to timely unload and then load passengers, thereby reducing the disembarking and embarking times of the aircraft (the “turn time”).
A “passenger boarding bridge” is an enclosed, movable connector which typically extends from an airport terminal gate to an aircraft, or from a port to a ship, allowing passengers to board and disembark without having to go outside and be exposed to the elements. A passenger boarding bridge is alternatively called a jet bridge, jetway, gangway, aerobridge/airbridge, air jetty, portal, or skybridge. At most airports, the passenger boarding bridge associated with each gate is movable, extending into position to mate with the aircraft once the aircraft is parked at the gate and retracting once disembarking and/or boarding is complete.
Each passenger boarding bridge typically includes a walkway portion and a cabin at the end adjacent to the aircraft. The cabin may be raised or lowered, extended or retracted, and may pivot, to accommodate aircraft of different sizes. In addition, a flexible boot is mounted to the cabin which is extended against the aircraft once the cabin is in position to eliminate any gaps between the aircraft and cabin and maintain passenger safety in boarding and disembarking. The positioning of the cabin and the flexible boot is controlled manually at an operator's station in the cabin by an airport employee. It often can take a significant amount of time for an airport employee to position the passenger boarding bridge once an aircraft is parked at the gate (e.g., during busy times at the airport), leading to delays in disembarking and subsequent boarding and adversely affecting turn time. In addition, as an aircraft is unloaded and then reloaded, the change in weight can cause the aircraft to shift position significantly vertically, causing gaps to form between the aircraft and the cabin/flexible boot and requiring repositioning of the cabin and/or flexible boot.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method for deployment and positioning of a passenger boarding bridge which overcomes the problems recited above.